Alfred Schnittke

Born: 1934

Died: 1998

Nationality: Russian

Publisher: G. Schirmer

Noted, above all, for his hallmark "polystylistic" idiom, Schnittke has written in a wide range of genres and styles. His Concerto Grosso No. 1
(1977) was one of the first works to bring his name to prominence. It
was popularized by Gidon Kremer, a tireless proponent of his music. Many
of Schnittke's works have been inspired by Kremer and other prominent
performers, including Yury Bashmet, Natalia Gutman, Gennady
Rozhdestvensky and Mstislav Rostropovich. Schnittke first came to
America in 1988 for the "Making Music Together" Festival in Boston and
the American premiere of Symphony No. 1 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He came again in 1991 when Carnegie Hall commissioned Concerto Grosso No. 5 for the Cleveland Orchestra as part of its Centennial Festival, and again in 1994 for the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7 by the New York Philharmonic and the American premiere of his Symphony No. 6 by the National Symphony.

In 1985, Schnittke suffered the first of a series of serious strokes.
Despite his physical frailty, however, Schnittke suffered no loss of
creative imagination, individuality or productivity. Beginning in 1990,
Schnittke resided in Hamburg, maintaining dual German-Russian
citizenship. He died, after suffering another stroke, on 3 August 1998
in Hamburg.